Mistletoe
by Angele Dei
Summary: Integra has a bad day and Alucard is in the holiday spirit! Oneshot, fluffy but not terribly OOC.


Alucard sneered at the opulent decorations that had been strewn about the mansion. The old man was really too enthusiastic about the holiday season, he mused as he saw Walter walk by whistling a Christmas jingle, laundry basket in hand. He turned away from the scene and strode leisurely into the soldiers' barracks; at times like this when vampire activity was slow, the juvenile antics of the mercenaries helped to alleviate his boredom.

He walked through the entrance of the barracks to find the French captain standing on a chair, snickering to his companions as he hung a sprig of mistletoe from an open doorway.

"I'll get zhe police girl good, she'll never expect a zhing!" he guffawed loudly, though he swallowed his words immediately as he noticed Alucard's presence.

"Ahh—ah," Pip backtracked frantically. "Zhat is to say—er, I meant no harm, Mr. Alucard sir, I swear it…" he faded out as Alucard continued to stare at him, face perfectly expressionless. Pip met his gaze and found himself unable to pull away as his eye began to twitch. "…Er, well we ought to be goin', lots of work to be done for me and zhe boys here, you understand!" The mercenaries nearly tripped over themselves as they scrambled hysterically for the exit.

Alucard watched them go with a tinge of amusement and shook his head to himself. He turned and eyed the chair, which had been abandoned in the center of the room, and let his eyes wander up to the mistletoe, still swinging from its place on the doorframe. His mouth twitched into a smirk and he plucked it down from its post.

Integra slammed the phone down angrily and buried her head in her hands. Days of sleep deprivation and the relentless demands of the Convention of Twelve had begun to take a toll on her nerves. Their latest assault on her organization had proved to be nearly too much for the director to handle in her current state, and so she had cut them off abruptly and now stood by the window fuming to herself. Walter entered with a crisp knock and attempted to engage her in some idle chit-chat as he set down a tea tray. She opened her mouth to reply spitefully but subdued her temper, knowing full well that the elderly butler wasn't the cause of her misfortune.

To her relief, Walter stopped unexpectedly in the middle of his soliloquy as a looming presence washed over the room. Rather than Alucard's favored form of entry through floors, ceilings, and walls, however, Walter and Integra looked with mild surprise to find the vampire stepping carefully into the office by means of the open doorway. He stood sans red coat, hat, and tie, instead wearing a simple white dress shirt opened slightly at the collar. His expression was calm and oddly somber although the mischievous glint was not altogether absent from his burgundy eyes.

Eyeing him carefully, Walter slowly turned to make his leave, having sensed the vampire's intention to speak to his master privately. As he passed, he flashed Alucard a warning glance, silently willing him not to push Integra's patience too far. Alucard spared him a fleeting look but opted to ignore him otherwise, instead standing patiently with his arms folded behind him until the butler had disappeared from the room and shut the door behind him.

Integra peered at the vampire from over her shoulder before turning dismissively and beginning to head back towards her desk. "I'm in no mood for your mind games today, Alucard," she announced simply.

He allowed himself a small smile and bowed his head slightly. "I wouldn't dream of it, Master."

"Then why—" she was cut off as she felt a rush of wind behind her and she whipped around to find Alucard standing close. His look was enigmatic as ever and he had leaned down slightly to her level.

"Wine?" he offered harmlessly, producing a bottle and two glasses from behind his back. Without waiting for his response, he filled the glasses and placed one into Integra's hand.

She looked at him skeptically, but tentatively took a sip as she watched him do the same. "…Thank you," she said reluctantly, still suspicious of his behavior but relishing the opportunity to relax a little.

Alucard smiled slyly by way of response and swirled the wine in his glass thoughtfully, watching calmly as it ebbed up and down in a surge of red.

"Oh, Integra," he hummed softly.

"Hmm?" She looked at him expectantly from behind her glass.

"There's something important you should hear," he spoke up suddenly, inching discreetly away from her.

"And what's that?" As she said this she had only just begun to notice his movement, and followed suit slowly.

Instead of a response, he cocked his head to the side with a knowing expression and glided across the floor of the office faster now. Integra stopped in her tracks to study him with a questioning look, placing her wine glass down. He continued to walk backwards until he had reached the doorway, and then held out a hand to beckon her wordlessly with a single curved finger before vanishing out into the hallway.

Her interest having peaked, Integra huffed and pursued him, arching backwards in confusion as she glanced around the empty hallway. Rolling her eyes at his impish game, she whirled around only to find him craning over her, his body hardly a hand's breadth away. Slowly she raised her head to look him in the eye, and instead found her attention captured by the small trinket he held in his hand.

"Happy holidays, Integra," he murmured, still grasping the mistletoe and dipping his face toward hers.

A sharp _crack_ resounded and the vampire reeled backwards, clutching at his now-broken nose. Alucard stared accusatorily at Integra from over his hand as blood streamed down his face. He regenerated quickly but still looked at her with a certain startled trepidation as she withdrew her fist. Integra surveyed her handiwork smugly and took a step closer, breaking the distance between the two. Alucard narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her but soon found himself tugged down to her level by his shirt collar.

For a brief moment, his lips were met by hers in a striking collision of ice and fire. His cool skin reveled in her warmth and he leaned into the kiss as his eyes fluttered shut. Then, almost as quickly as they had come together, they drew apart once more. Integra pushed him away from her with a stoic face that revealed almost nothing other than her normal, cool nonchalance, and for a moment Alucard felt a trace of disappointment. Just as she began to turn away, however, he fancied that he saw a sort of cunning laughter in her Caribbean blue eyes. Shaking himself from his stupor, he chuckled to himself under his breath and started down the hallway in the opposite direction. He wet his lips, still tasting her even as they parted ways. Just as he rounded the corner and was out of her sight, a familiar voice flooded him and resonated pleasantly within his thoughts.

_Merry Christmas, Alucard._


End file.
